Make Tea ....

... Good afternoon! I hope your morning has been going well. I've been out for my walk - I'm up to 2½ miles now, it's lovely to hear the birds sing. Since being home, I've been in my office sorting things out, listening to music and making a card:

Stamps: Uniko - I Love Tea; Waltzingmouse Stamps - Afternoon Tea, Afternoon Tea Sentiments
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Gina K - Black Amalgam, Soft Stone; Memento - Angel Pink, Lulu Lavender
Accessories: White Card; Stampin' Up! Card - Highland Heather; Copic Markers; Clear Embossing Powder; Uniko Stencils - Broken Lines, Scattered Polka Dots

I've made this card for several challenges - CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#363 - I turned the sketch, CASology - CAS#364 where the theme is Tea, Colour Throwdown - CTD#585, and Uniko Challenge - USC#58 to use spots and stripes.

I don't drink tea myself, but I do know many people who do, and I've got lots of tea stamps, so I had to play along with CASology. I stamped the teacup outline image and used two stencils to add some colour to the cup. I restamped the image in Versafine and heat embossed with clear powder. I added the lovely flower image from I Love Tea and heat embossed that too. I then fussy cut the image and coloured the opening - it's tea afterall! I made the card base from purple card. I cut a white panel smaller than the front onto which I stamped a sentiment which I think is very appropriate for our current strange time. I adhered the teacup above the sentiment and then stamped some steam curls. On the inside, I cut another white panel and added a couple of teacups along with another sentiment. I've left space for my own message.

Well, we've reached the end of our first week having to stay in the house. I suspect that many of us have been catching up with jobs that we've been putting off. I did the shed last week, and next week I'm tackling the utility cupboard. There is a strange feeling in the village - the main road through our village is so much quieter, I don't really hear planes, just birdsong and dogs. Oh yes, there's also the sound of children playing in their gardens. It's a tough time for us all - be safe. See you soon.

52CCT - Technique ...

.... Good morning! I'm actually on time with my DT card this week. Mind, it was quite close as I only finished it last night at 10.00pm. Our challenge at 52 Christmas Card Throwdown - 52CCT29-16 this week is a technique. We want you to make a card with 2 or more folds. I have to admit that I'm not great with fancy folds, so I've gone for a simple stepper card:

Stamps: Uniko  - I love Tea, Essentially Christmas; Stampin' Up! - Peaceful Pines
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; SU - Gumball Green, Real Red
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Gumball Green; SU DP - Real Red; SU/Sizzix EF - Softly Falling; Clear Embossing Powder

I got inspiration for this card from the photo for Merry Monday - MM#209, and I'll be submitting this to Lori's Christmas in summer challenge. I made a very simple stepper card with just two folds from some green card. I cut a couple of white panels which I embossed to suggest falling snow. I stamped the tea cup on two pieces of red design paper and again on white card. I added a pattern to the white cup and then cut them all out. I adhered the cups to the card and finished off the front with a small bunch of holly leaves and a bow. On the inside I stamped a greeting on the white panel and added more decoration.

For more inspirations - do visit our blog to see more from the rest of the design team. Have fun!

I'm off to some mixed media classes at Scrappy Chic today with Finnabair. Really looking forward to getting covered in paint! I'll share photos soon. Bye for now.

CIC - Colours ....

... Morning! It's time for our new challenge at Cupcake Inspirations - CIC#356 and this week we have some really pretty colours for you - pink, blossom and pistachio. I've made a pretty and reasonably clean and simple birthday card:

Stamps: Sami Stamps - Umbrella Poinsettia Digi; Uniko - Simply Said, I Love Tea
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Pretty in Pink
Dies: Lil Inkers - Stitched Squares #4, Dual Stitched Squares #3
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Pear Pizzazz; Ribbon Resource - Green/Fuchsia Check Ribbon; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear

I think this image is so pretty and even though it's called Poinsettia, I think the flowers could equally well be rose-like! I printed the image twice on white card and coloured with Copics. I cut the umbrella part out and added sparkle with a clear Wink of Stella brush and then adhered it to the main image with dimensional gel. I used dies to cut out the image and also for the mat layer. I stamped a very clean, crisp sentiment below the image. I finished the card by adding a bow - something I do very rarely! On the inside I cut a mat layer of green card and on the white panel added a simple flower image. On the photo below you can see the dimension and also the sparkle on the umbrella.

The winner of this week's challenge will receive a $12 gift card from Sami Stamps to use in their shop. For more inspiration projects check out our blog to see what the team have created with these fabulous spring colours!  Have fun!

CIC - Colours ....

... Morning!  It's time for our new challenge at Cupcake Inspirations - CIC#350.  As always our colours are taken from our fabulous cupcake photo.  Don't they look just yummy? Our colours are light and bright and perfect for a spring card - Chartreuse, petal and goldenrod.  Here's my card:

Stamps: DRS Designs Digi - Leaf Butterfly Spray; Uniko - Some Bunny, I Love Tea
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Daffodil Delight
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU Card - Pear Pizzazz; Cuttlebug EF - D'Vine Swirls; Copics; Wink of Stella - Clear

My layout is based on this week's sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#226.  I'm also submitting to the new Time Out Challenge - TOC#51, as their theme is Spring/Easter and I've made an Easter card. I received this beautiful digital image from DRS Designs which I printed on white card. I coloured it with Copic markers and then carefully cut it out. As I'd already printed a second image, I decided to layer the butterflies for some depth.  I added sparkle to the butterflies and flower buds with a clear Wink of Stella brush. I made the base from green card and embossed the white panel with elegant swirls. I stamped a simple greeting on the horizontal border.  On the inside I stamped a couple of pretty flowers at the corners.

I've taken a close up photo of the butterflies so that you can see the dimension as well as the pretty sparkle:

For more inspiration with these pretty colours, check out the blog to see more from the Design Team.

Our sponsor this week is DRS Designs, who kindly provided me with this pretty digital image.  The winner of the challenge will receive a $10 Gift Certificate for use in the DRS shop.  Have fun!

UC - Colours Reminder ....

... Hi!  I bet you thought I'd forgotten about you all!  Not so.  I've very busy with stuff in the house - more of that later.

Have you joined in with our latest challenge at Uniko?  Well, if you haven't I thought I'd give you a quick reminder - we have some wonderful colours for you to play along with this month. They are the Uniko colours - Turquoise, pink and aqua and I've a clean, simple card to share with you:

Stamps: Uniko - I Love Tea
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Pink Pirouette; Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU DP - Bermuda Bay, Pool Party, Pink Pirouette; Gems

I adore this pretty teacup and the lovely flower pattern from Bev's new release, so I had to play with it again.  I used a couple of challenges:

• CAS Colours & Sketches - CASC&S#162 - super sketch
• City Crafter Challenge Blog - CCCB#300 - to use polka dots - check!

I used up some of my large huge collection of scraps on this card.  I simply cut a couple of strips of dotty paper for the teacup to sit on and adhered them flat to the card.  I stamped the teacup on another scrap, cut it out and added some white paper inside (I like my crockery to be plain on the inside!).  I stamped the sentiment and then added a trail of little gems for some sparkle.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of design paper and added a tiny heart in pink to the white panel. Quick and easy.

Do visit our blog to see more inspiration projects from the rest of the team, along with our Guest Designer - AJ - who has made a wonderful note set!

If you need more encouragement to join in with the challenge - we have prizes too!  Here are the details:

THE PRIZES

• The DT will choose a winner who will get a £20 gift voucher.
• The DT choose a Top 3 who will each get 50 Loyalty Rewards Points added to their customer account.
• We will do a random draw for all those who use A UNIKO stamp, and this winner will get 150 Loyalty Reward Points added to their customer account

You've got plenty of time to play along with this month's challenge.  The deadline for submission is midnight (GMT) on Friday 11th March (7.00pm EDT).

Now, before I go - the reason this post is late is that I was so tired last night I forgot to finish it. We've had a major blast of winter in the Northville area for the last couple of days.  On Wednesday I had to clear nearly 4" of snow from the drive and paths - which normally wouldn't be too bad as I'd use my snow blower, but it's dead!!  Sob!  It took ages.  And then, it continued to snow and yesterday, when the snow finally stopped, Jonathan, Kat and I all went out to clear a further 5" from the drive and paths.  It was so nice to have company.  Kat had a snow day (school was closed) and Jonathan's office was also closed (but he worked from home).  So nice to wake up today to clear paths and drive!!  And no snow in the forecast for the weekend.

The other reason that my blog has gone a bit quiet lately is that we're moving house. And before you ask, not back to the UK.  Our Landlords are coming back to the US and want their house back (don't blame them, it's lovely).  We had to start looking for a new place and fully expected it to take ages. But it didn't!!  We found our new home in about two weeks!  So at the moment I'm up to my eyes getting removal quotes, sorting through our stuff to reduce it a bit and going between the two houses. And, I'm not getting too much time to craft.  But I plan to get some time today!  I will post photos once we're in the new place!

That's all for now - do have a go at our Uniko challenge - have fun!

UC - Colours ....

... Hello and Good Morning!  It's time to annouce our new challenge at Uniko.  This month we have a colour theme - AQUA, PINK & TURQUOISE - you probably recognise them as Uniko's colours!  I decided to make an Easter card - I certainly need a few for my stash:

Stamps: Uniko - Some Bunny, Fontiments Birthday; I Love Tea
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black; Stampin' Up! - Pool Party, Pink Pirouette
Dies: Spellbinders - Square Sm (S4-128) #6, Lacey Squares (S4-295) #4
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Pink Petticoat DP - Vintage Rose; SU DP - Bermuda Bay; Wink of Stella - Clear

I adore this little bunny - he's perfect for an Easter card, but he's make a great baby card too!  I decided to paper piece him using three different papers.  I added some sparkle to the pink areas with a clear Wink of Stella brush.  The layout is based on the sketch from Mojo Monday - MOJO#435 (it's been ages since I played along with this challenge).  I used two of the papers to make the panels on the card.  I die cut the lacy square from the turquoise paper, cut a smaller white panel on which I stamped the sentiment and finished by added the bunny.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of design paper and on the white panel added a greeting and the pretty flowers from I Love Tea.

Do visit the Uniko blog to see more inspiration from the Design Team using our lovely colours.  I'm really looking forward to seeing your projects.

Now, this post has been scheduled, as I will be in Florida by the time the post goes live.  I'm attending Back to Back Art Retreat with Dina Wakely and Dyan Reaveley.  I've been looking forward to it so much.  Pictures and details later!!!  As well as all the wonderful creativity at the weekend, it's in Florida - temperatures expected to range from 22°C to 25°C (70°F to 77°F) with sunshine.  So much nicer than snow and freezing temps!  Bye for now!

Uniko - 4th Birthday, February Release, Blog Hop & Giveaway ...

....  Morning!  I'm very, very late with this post - I have a good excuse and will tell you as soon as I can!!  In the meantime, I'm here to help Bev celebrate Uniko's 4th Birthday.  I think I found her stamps about a month or two after she opened shop - and I love them still.  And it's such a pleasure to be a member of Bev's Design Team.  Bev is releasing four new stamp sets today and I've used three of them in my cards.

Here's the first card featuring Beautiful Blooms III - a multi-step set:

Stamps: Uniko - Beautiful Blooms III, I Love Tea, Simply Said
Inks: Stampin' Up! - Pink Pirouette, Melon Mambo, Calypso Coral, Early Espresso, Crumb Cake
Dies: Die-namics - Happy Hellos
Accessories: White Lustre Card; SU DP - Calypso Coral; Gold Mirri Card; We Are Memory Keepers EF - Gemstone; Gold Pen

I cased Anita's lovely card from this week's MUSE - MUSE#152 challenge.  The colours are from Colour Q - cQc#328 and as there's a lovely flower on the card, I'm also playing along with Addicted to CAS - ATCAS#81 where the cue word is BLOOM.

I cut a panel of white card slightly smaller than the base and stamped the flower and leaves.  I used my MISTI which makes perfect positioning so easy.  Once stamped I embossed the panel and edged it with a gold pen.  I adhered the panel flat to the card.  I die cut the word from gold mirri card.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of coral design paper and on the white panel added the little flower stamp, from I love Tea, as it matches the main image.  I also added a little greeting from Simply Said - which is full of useful phrases.

My next card is really clean and simple, and very pretty too!

Stamps: Uniko - I Love Tea
Inks: Versafine - Onyx Black
Accessories: White Lustre Card; Kaisercraft DP - Secret Admirer; Washi Tape (can't remember who made this one); Copic Marker

I used the sketch from Freshly Made Sketches - FMS#233 for the layout and the colours are from Your Next Stamp - YNS#32 where I've used the colours.

I stamped the teacup on some pretty design paper and fussy cut it out.  I stamped the top of the cup again on some scrap white paper and coloured in some "tea", cut it out and adhered it to the teacup.  I found some pretty Washi tape in my stash and adhered two pieces to the card, attached the teacup and then used my MISTI to position and stamp the greeting.  On the inside I cut a mat layer of the same design paper.  On the white panel I stamped a greeting and the little flower stamp from this set - it's so pretty!

I didn't get chance to make a card with the final set - Some Bunny.  This is a really cute set with a lovely bunny and sentiments in fabulous fonts.  You will see the set soon.

Now, as is traditional, we have a release day Blog Hop with the DT and some Uniko Alumni.  Simply visit and comment along the Hop by midnight (GMT) Thursday 26th February, to be in with a chance of winning the ENTIRE release!!  If you have already purchase any or all of the release a refund will be given.

Bev

Deborah (that's me)

Jane

Lindsey

Nicki

Sarah G

Sarah P

Amy

Taheerah

Now, before I go, here are all the sets available today:

Beautiful Blooms III

I Love Tea

Simply Said

Some Bunny

Thank you for stopping by - do visit Bev's blog.  Bye for now